Helical slide

ABSTRACT

A slide and method of making it in which there is an upright ground-engageable post having a helical channeled bedway extending axially therealong with a ladder interconnected to the upper end of said bedway. The bedway is formed from an annular body having inner and outer radially spaced circumferential edges. After the body is formed, it is cut thereacross, a post is inserted through said body, and the inner circumferential inner edge of said body adjacent one of its ends is connected to said post. The opposite end of said body is pulled axially along the post to cause said body to project radially outwardly therefrom with its inner circumferential edge abutting said post along a helical path. Said inner circumferential edge is fastened to the post, and the ladder is then interconnected to the upper end of the extended bedway.

United States Patent [1 1 Henning [45] June 4, 1974 [73] Assignee:American Playground Device Co., Anderson, 1nd.

221 Filed: Apr. 27, 1973 211 Appl. No.: 355,197

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 224,108, Feb. 7,1972.

[52] US. Cl. 272/565 R, 193/12 [51] Int. Cl. A63g 21/00 [58] Field ofSearch 272/565 R, 56.5 SS, 60;

193/2, 12, 13; 29/1568 R, 157.3 AH, 469; 182/48; D34/5 E; 104/56, 57,69, 70

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 506.238 10/1893 Kirker193/12 629.597 7/1899 Pardee 193/12 X 803,119 10/1905 Logan t t 272/565R 1,959,736 5/1934 Rademachcr 193/12 UX D218,625 9/1970 Ahren t D34/5 E3,565,226 2/1971 Winchester 193/12 OTHER PUBLICATIONS General PlaygroundEquipment. lnc., Kokomo, lndiana, Catalog No. 22. Page 2, Fun-Ful SpiralSlide, 1948.

Haslett Spiral Chutes Brochure 1953, Haslett Chutc and Conveyor Company,Oaks, Pennsylvania Primary ExaminrAnt0n O. Oechsle AssistantExaminer-Arnold W. Kramer Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Trask, Jenkins &Hanley [57] ABSTRACT A slide and method of making it in which there isan upright ground-engageable post having a helical channeled bedwayextending axially therealong with a ladder interconnected to the upperend of said bedway. The bedway is formed from an annular body havinginner and outer radially spaced circumferential edges. After the body isformed, it is cut thereacross, a post is inserted through said body, andthe inner circumferential inner edge of said body adjacent one of itsends is connected to said post. The opposite end of said body is pulledaxially along the post to cause said body to project radially outwardlytherefrom with its inner circumferential edge abutting said post along ahelical path. Said inner circumferential edge is fastened to the post,and the ladder is then interconnected to the upper end of the extendedbedway.

2 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures HELICAL SLIDE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONHelical slides and chutes in which the slide bedway or channel is in theform of a helix mounted on a vertical support running along the axis ofthe helix are known in the art. Such slides are shown in my prior U. S.Pat. Des. No. 221,963 and in U. S. Pat. Nos. 1,256,724; 2,437,259;1,270,366 and 3,083,015.

In the manufacture of such slides, it has heretofore been theconventional practice to form the channel shaped bedway of the slidefrom a plurality of small pieshaped sections which are connected to eachother and to the center supporting post. Because of the small radialextent of the inner ends of these various sections, it has beennecessary to brace such sections and the bedway formed thereby withbraces extending from the sections inwardly to the supporting post or bygroundengageable braces projecting outwardly and downwardly from thebedway.

The instant invention overcomes the difficulties and disadvantages ofsuch prior construction methods by providing a method of making a spiralslide in which the channeled bedway is formed from a limited number ofparts which can be easily connected to each other and to the centralsupporting post thereby effecting economies in the manufacture of theslide and reducing the number of interconnections that must extendacross the bedway.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the preferred form of theinvention, there is first formed an annular body having a generallyU-shaped cross-section between its inner and outer circumferentialedges. A radial cut is made across the body between a pair of points onits inner and outer circumferential edges to thus form a pair of ends onsaid body. An elongated ground-engageable post is inserted through thebody, and the inner circumferential edge of said body adjacent one endthereof is fixedly connected to said post. After the connection isformed, the opposite end of the body is pulled axially along said postto thus cause said body to project radially outwardly from the post withits inner circumferential edge abutting said post along a helical path.The inner circumferential edge is rigidly fastened to the post with thebody forming a spiral bedway extending downwardly along the post.

A platform assembly is connected to said body at the upper end thereof,and a ground-engageable ladder is connected to said platform assembly.The lower end of the helical bedway terminates above the lower end ofthe ground-engageable post, and desirably, a U-shaped discharge chute ismounted on the lower end of said bedway to project generallytangentially outwardly from said post.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings illustratethe invention. In such drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a slide according to the instantinvention, with portions thereof being broken away;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the slide shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3-6 show the successive steps for forming and mounting thechanneled bedway on the slide shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of a slide similar to the one shown in FIG.1, but showing a modified form thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in FIG. 1, mynovel slide construction comprises a spiral bedway 10 projectingradially outwardly from and extending axially along a ground-engageablecenter support post 12. A discharge chute 14 is mounted on the lower endof the bedway 10, and a platform assembly 16 is mounted on the upper endof said bedway. A ground-engageable ladder assembly 18 is mounted on theouter end of the platform assembly 16 and angles downwardly therefrom.

As shown in FIGS. 3-5, the bedway 10 is formed by forming a circulardisc 20 into an annular body 22 having inner and outer circumferentialedges 23 and 24. The body has a generally U-shaped cross-section betweenthe edges 23 and 24 to give it a channeled crosssection.This'cross-sectional configuration is provided by an inner wall portion25 whose inner edge constitutes the inner circumferential edge 23 and anouter wall portion 26 whose outer edge constitutes the circumferentialedge 24. The inner and outer wall portions 25 and 26 are interconnectedby a floor portion 27 which forms the bottom or floor of the bedway 10.As shown, the outer wall portion 26 has an axial extent substantiallygreater than the axial extent of the inner vwall portion 25. Desirably,in forming the body 22, the

outer circumferential edge 24 is rolled to form a bead 28 extendingtherealong.

After the body 22 has been formed into the configuration illustrated inFIG. 4, a radial cut 30 is formed in said body as illustrated in FIG. 5.As shown, the cut 30 extends from a point on the inner circumferentialedge 23 radially outwardly to an adjacent point on the outercircumferential edge 24. In this manner, thebody is provided with a pairof ends 32 and 33. As shown in FIG. 6, after the cut 30 has been formed,the elongated post 12 having a ground-engageable foot 37, is insertedthrough the center of the body 22. Said post has an outer circumferencesubstantially less than the length of the circumferential edge 23. Withthe post inserted through the body 22, the inner circumferential edge 23of the body, adjacent its end 33, is rigidly fastened to said post, asat 38. As shown in FIG. 6, the connection 38 is disposed adjacent to butdownwardly from the upper end of said post.

It is also possible to insert the post 12 through the body 22 prior toforming the cut 30 therein. However, in most applications it is easierto manipulate and handle the body to form said cut prior to insertingthe post through said body. 1

After the connection 38 has been made, the free end 32 of the body 24 ispulled downwardly along post 12 as indicated by the arrow A. Thisdownward pulling effort causes the body to rotate around the axis of thepost 12 with its inner circumferential edge 23 abutting said post alonga helical path. Desirably, the body 22 is extended axially along post 12a distance sufficient that said body forms one revolution around saidpost.

. With the body maintained in its extended helical configuration, itsinner edge 23 is rigidly fastened to the post. With the body rigidlyconnected to the post, the

connected to the post 12, the discharge chute 14 is rigidly connected tothe lower end 32 of said bedway to project tangentially outwardly fromthe post. As shown, said chute has a generally U-shaped configuration,and is thus provided with inner and outer wall portions 42 and 43connected to wall portions 25 and 26 and a floor portion 44 connected tothe floor portion 27.

The platform assembly 16 is then mounted on the upper end 33 of thebedway. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, said platform assembly comprises aplatform 46 having a U-shaped cross-section formed from a pair of sidewalls 48 and 49 interconnected by a floor 50. The inner end of the wall49 is connectedto the outer wall portion 26, while the inner endof theplatform wall 48 is connected to the post 12. A generally frustoconicaltransition section 55 is connected to the inner edge of the platformfloor 50 and to the inner wall portion 25, floor portion 27 and aportion of the outer wall portion 26 of the bedway 10. As shown in FIG.2, the transition section 55 is also connected to the adjacent portionof the post 12, as at 57. Conveniently, an arcuateguard rail 59is-connected to the inner edge of the platform wall 49 and to thecircumferential edge 24 of the bedway 10.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ladder assembly 18 angles downwardly andoutwardly from the outer end of the platform assembly 16. Conveniently,said ladder assembly comprises a pair of side walls 60-and 61interconnected by a back wall 62. A plurality of vertically spaced steps63 are mounted'on the back wall 62 between the side walls 60 and 61.

As shown in FIG. 1, the outer end of the platform floor 50 projectsoutwardly beyond the ends of the side walls 48 and 49 and is connectedto the ladder back wall 62. A pair of wings 66 are connected to theouter ends of the platform walls 48 and 49 and to the outwardlyprojecting portion of the floor 50. The wings are connected to the upperends of the ladder side walls 61 and 60 and form extensions thereof. Inthis manner, the wings 66 and the extension of the platform floor 50serve to interconnect the ladder and platform assemblies.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. I, the bedway is formed from asingular annular body 22. In many applications, however, it may bedesirable to have a bedway having a greater helical extent than thatillustrated in FIG. 1. Thus, it may be desirable to form a bedway 10'from a plurality of interconnected annular bodies 22', as is shown inFIG. 7.

In the formation of the bedway 10' in FIG. 7, a pair of identicalannular bodies 22 are formed in the same manner as is illustrated inFIGS. 4 and 5. After each of said bodies has been provided with itsradially extend ingcut, a pair of ends on the two bodies are rigidlyAfter the bedway 10 has thus been formed and rigidly joined together asshown at 70in FIG. 7. In this manner, the two interconnected bodies forma unitary extended helix. After the bodies are interconnected, theground-engageable post 12' is inserted through them. The bedway 10 isthen formed in the same manner as previously described in connectionwith the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and the discharge chute I4 and theplatform and ladder assemblies 16 and 18' are also mounted on the bedway10 in the same manner previously described. In this embodiment, as withthe embodiment shown in FIG. I, it is preferable if each of the bodies22' makes one revolution around the post 12.

While the invention has been described in the context of a playgroundslide, it is to be understood, of course, that the same principles andtechniques can be employed for using the invention in the fabrication ofa spiral type conveyor. In such application, it is, of -course, notnecessary to employ the ladder assemblies 18 or 18 or the platformassemblies 16 and 16', and accordingly,- such assemblies may beeliminated without departing-from the spirit and scope of the inventionas set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A slide, comprising a vertically extending groundengageable post, aunitary helical channeled bedway extending axially along said post andprojecting radially therefrom-said bedway being connected to said postalong its inner edge with the connections between said post and theinner edge of said bedway constituting the sole means of supporting saidbedway on said post, a platform assembly connected to said bedway at theupper end thereof, a ground-engageable ladder assembly connected to saidplatform assembly, a discharge chute connected to the lower end of saidbedway, said platform assembly being connected to the adjacent upperendof said bedway and comprising a pair of spaced parallel side wallsinterconnected by a floor and upstanding therefrom with the rear of saidside walls connected to said ladder assembly and the front of said sidewalls connected respectively to said post and tangentially to the outerwall portion of said channeled bedway, and a generally frustoconicaltransition section connected to said post and interconnecting said floorand bedway.

2. A slide, comprising a vertically extending groundengageable post, aunitary helical channeled bedway extending axially along said post andprojecting radially therefrom, said bedway being connected to said postalong its inner'edge with the connection between said post and the inneredge of the bedway constituting the sole means of supporting said bedwayon said post, a platform assembly connected to the adjacent upper end ofsaid bedway and comprising a pair of spaced, parallel side wallsinterconnected by a floor and upstanding therefrom with the front ofsaid side walls connected respectively to said post and tangentially tothe outer wall portion of said channeled bedway, a generallyfrustoconical transition section connectedto said post andinterconnecting said floor and bedway, a ladder assembly having a pairof uprights connected to said floor and having a plurality of verticallyspaced steps mounted thereon, and a pair of wings connected to saiduprights,

floor and the rear of said side walls.

1. A slide, comprising a vertically extending ground-engageable post, aunitary helical channeled bedway extending axially along said post andprojecting radially therefrom, said bedway being connected to said postalong its inner edge with the connections between said post and theinner edge of said bedway constituting the sole means of supporting saidbedway on said post, a platform assembly connected to said bedway at theupper end thereof, a ground-engageable ladder assembly connected to saidplatform assembly, a discharge chute connected to the lower end of saidbedway, said platform assembly being connected to the adjacent upper endof said bedway and comprising a pair of spaced parallel side wallsinterconnected by a floor and upstanding therefrom with the rear of saidside walls connected to said ladder assembly and the front of said sidewalls connected respectively to said post and tangentially to the outerwall portion of said channeled bedway, and a generally frustoconicaltransition section connected to said post and interconnecting said floorand bedway.
 2. A slide, comprising a vertically extendingground-engageable post, a unitary helical channeled bedway extendingaxially along said post and projecting radially therefrom, said bedwaybeing connected to said post along its inner edge with the connectionbetween said post and the inner edge of the bedway constituting the solemeans of supporting said bedway on said post, a platform assemblyconnected to the adjacent upper end of said bedway and comprising a pairof spaced, parallel side walls interconnected by a floor and upstandingtherefrom with the front of said side walls connected respectively tosaid post and tangentially to the outer wall portion of said channeledbedway, a generally frustoconical transition section connected to saidpost and interconnecting said floor and bedway, a ladder assembly havinga pair of uprights connected to said floor and having a plurality ofvertically spaced steps mounted thereon, and a pair of wings connectedto said uprights, floor and the rear of said side walls.